The Unblocked Collection (36 page)

My hands balled into fists and I took a step forward. Will was immediately at my side, holding me back. There was no way I was going to let him talk about Frankie that way. But if I showed him Frankie was a weakness, she would become his focus, and I couldn’t let that happen either.

“That ain’t power,” he continued. “That ain’t shit, really. No one cares about green and natural elements and all that rubbish you like to flaunt. This is fucking Boston, not Vermont. People in this city want luxury, not recycled wood and energy efficient toilets that barely flush down the piss.” I stepped back and shoved my hands into my pockets. He had no idea what he was talking about, and it became more obvious with each word he spoke. “I thought you would have learned from your daddy’s mistakes.” His eyes ran over the ceiling, traced the walls. “But it looks like the only thing you’ve inherited is his stupidity.”

“Don’t ever speak his name again.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll make sure it’s the last thing you ever say.”

His lip curled and his eyes narrowed. “You’re shit. And this…this
Timber Towers
…is nothing but shit.”

“Get the fuck out.”

Had it been up to him, he probably would have casually turned around and strolled through the door. But it was no longer up to him. I nodded, and the two guards who stood at his sides took him by the arms and, as he swore and spat at them, they dragged his feet across the floor until he was outside.

“Do you think he knows something?” Will asked.

I watched them pull Randy down the sidewalk and put him into a cab. “Doubt it. He’s nervous about the Hull deal, which he should be. He’s getting fucked, and the fact that he doesn’t know that makes him the stupid one.”

“Then why would he come here?”

“I think he’s starting to question his team and the people who are advising him, wondering if they’re steering him in the wrong direction. He knows Timber Towers is better than anything he’s ever gotten. He’s got to be curious why that is.”

“Tamra?”

I glanced at the door as the two guards walked back inside, and I thanked them as they made their way to the stairs. “I don’t think he’s on to her yet,” I told him, “and she’s not smart enough to play double agent.”

“We need a new lead.”

I nodded as I pulled out my phone. “You’re right.” And it had to be one who didn’t want my dick.

He turned and headed back toward the office. “I’m going to grab my bag and lock up. I’ll grab yours too.”

“Thanks, buddy,” I said, pulling up Hayden’s last text.

Me:
Find something on him. NOW. I want him fucking buried.

Hayden:
What’s got you so wound up?

Me:
He came by Timber Towers.

Hayden:
Oh shit. And?

Me:
And he’s lucky I didn’t bury him under my foundation. I’ve had enough of his shit. We need something solid and we need it now.

Hayden:
I know. I’m working on it.

I closed the text message window and saw the time on my home screen.
Fuck
. I was already late to meet Frankie. It would take me another few minutes to get to my Suburban and at least fifteen to drive there if I didn’t hit any traffic or red lights. I pressed her number and listened to the four rings before her voicemail picked up. Then I hung up and immediately called her right back.

“Here,” Will said, handing me my bag as I hung up. “Do you need anything else?”

“I need Frankie to answer my goddamn call.”

“Maybe she’s not getting your call. The reception isn’t great at The Hole.”

“Or she’s pissed that I’m late, and I didn’t call to tell her.”

“Want me to check the office lines to see if she left either of us a message?”

That would just waste more time. “I’m just going to take off.” I shoved my phone into the front pocket of my flannel and headed toward the garage. “If you hear from her, tell her I’m on my way,” I said over my shoulder.

“Got it.”

I pulled out of the garage, relieved that the traffic wasn’t thick through the Back Bay. I was able to take the side streets to avoid most of the lights and parked in a spot beside the restaurant. Frankie wasn’t inside. I knew that even before I’d headed to our usual booth. I couldn’t smell her, couldn’t feel her eyes on me. My dick hadn’t gone hard like it always did whenever she was near.

“She stayed about fifteen or so minutes and left, darlin’,” the waitress said from behind me. It was Betty, the same server we’d had the last time we were here…the night I’d finger-fucked her underneath the table.

“She didn’t happen to leave a message, did she?” A long shot, I knew, but I had to ask.

“I’d say the message on her face was loud and clear when she stormed out of here. She wasn’t happy about the no-show, if you get my drift.”

She hadn’t seen my missed calls, or there hadn’t been any because the service in here was shit. I’d let her down, and I was furious with myself for that. Now that she was pissed, I wondered if I should prepare myself for getting ignored… or worse.

“Thanks for the heads up, Betty.”

“Do yourself a favor, darlin’, and grab something nice and pretty for her. Girls like that. ‘Course, they like wine, too. That might be your best bet, now that I think about it.”

I laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

FRANKIE

I THREW MY PURSE
down on the couch, kicked off my heels somewhere around the coffee table. One of the bottles Derek had sent was sitting in the wine rack unopened. It was staring at me, taunting me. If I didn’t enjoy it so much, I would have thrown it out.

I poured myself a glass as I cursed him.

After twenty minutes of waiting with no phone call or text, I left the restaurant. He was the one who had asked for this dinner, the one who had set the time and place. The one who had confessed he wanted more from me, from us. And then, he didn’t show up. The reason was irrelevant. Maybe he could pull that with the women he’d screwed before me, but I wouldn’t tolerate it. I wasn’t just some bimbo he picked up one night at a bar. If I was going to take the next step with him—however far that step was—then he needed to respect me. I’d been in a relationship where I came last, my feelings pushed aside, my dignity barely intact. I wasn’t about to do that again.

I swallowed half my glass and refilled it.

What was happening to me? I’d gone a whole year without any drama, with many nights spent alone and a few horrible first dates, and I had been okay with that. Work was what was important, and Brea and Anna and my father. And just as I began to move to a deeper emotional place with the one person I shouldn’t be doing that with, I got stood up.

This wasn’t going to work.

I could hear my phone ringing from the living room. I ignored it. The three people who really mattered had their own ringtones, and what I heard wasn’t any of theirs. So I let it go to voicemail. If it was Derek, he could leave twenty voicemails—one for each of the minutes I had waited. I wasn’t answering.

I was carrying the glass into my bedroom when the line by my front door began to ring. It was the one used by security and doormen. Someone was here to see me, and I could only assume that someone was Derek. But he wasn’t on my list, which meant they wouldn’t send him up without calling. And if I didn’t answer, he’d just wait and wait until he grew tired and left. Kind of like I’d done at The Hole.

There was no way I was answering that phone either.

I stripped off my jeans with my free hand and shuffled out of them until they were on the floor in the hallway. My panties dropped somewhere around the doorway of my bedroom. I set the glass on my nightstand, flung off my shirt and unclasped my bra. The shades were still open as I climbed under the covers. The soft glow from the adjacent buildings showed how empty my bed was.

I stretched my legs over the cool sheets. I loved how silky they felt against my skin, and how the wine ran through my veins and heated the center of my chest. My fingers slowly crawled down my breasts, past my navel and halted.

I needed this.

No—I wanted this.

And I was the one who decided I’d have it. Not Derek Block.

I spread my legs a bit wider and pressed the back of my head into the pillow as the pads of my fingers found the center of my folds. It wasn’t the motion I’d grown used to in the last several days, and the strength of Derek’s hand wasn’t present. I couldn’t smell his skin surrounding me. But none of that mattered. It was exactly what I needed, the caress of something familiar, a speed and pressure that would ultimately bring me to the same place.

Something I controlled on my own.

I kept my eyes closed and concentrated on the sensation. My breathing turned labored; my nipples became hardened peaks. His face was there, behind my lids…those electric blue eyes, that torturous beard that ravaged me. As much as I tried to push it away, to block it or think of something else—someone else, or no one at all—he always returned. I could almost feel his fingers on me, controlling the circles I was making around my clit. I could almost hear his dirty mouth telling me how good I felt, how wet and tight and warm I was.

Ahhhhh…that’s it. Right there.

All for me.

Not him.

A burst of pleasure rippled through my stomach. My free hand gripped the edge of my pillow and squeezed as the passion continued to build. It sucked every bit of breath out of my lungs. A moan released; a shudder exploded. And then an ease swept across my chest and settled into my muscles.

With my eyes closed, I reached for the glass of wine and drained whatever was left. Even when I was angry at him, he still had so much control over me. I may have taken it by breaking his masturbation rule—again—but it was his face that had sent the orgasm shooting through me. It was the thought of him that brought the tremble, and the build, and the release, and my fingers were just the tools. I hated it. And I hated that he’d stood me up, left me sitting alone in that damn restaurant, waiting for him like some desperate fool.

But even more than those, I hated that he didn’t seem capable of keeping his word.

DEREK

I HIT THE BUTTON
for Will’s extension and waited for the intercom to connect. “Can you come in here for a minute? I need to send Frankie something.” I hung up and waited for him to appear in my doorway.

“She still hasn’t returned your calls?” he asked as he entered.

“Not a goddamn word from her.” It was fucking noon. I’d sent her a text on my way to her building last night, left two messages when I got there and was rejected by the doorman because I wasn’t on her list. But that goddamn piece of shit who had woken us up two mornings ago to smooth things over with her and bring her coffee—he was on her list…the same fucker who had cheated on her—with my sister. Brea had sent an email early this morning that said if I needed anything to reach out to her directly. Frankie had passed me off. I was her client and, the last time she had been upset, I’d made her promise not to ignore me professionally.

This time, I was the one who’d fucked up. Knowing that made it even worse.

“So you want to send her something?”

“Yeah, something that’ll really make her smile.”

Will smirked. “How about an apology?”

Funny guy. “She’ll get one of those, too. Let’s start with a gift to break the ice.” Showing up late to the restaurant and not calling wasn’t a good move, especially after telling her I wanted something more. I had to make it right. Then I’d come in with an apology…one she’d have no choice but to forgive.

“No lingerie or wine or flowers this time?” he asked.

“Nah, I’ve got to try something different.”

“Give me a direction.”

I remembered how much Frankie had loved her spa day at the hotel. “She likes being pampered.” Her happiness didn’t just come from getting her nails done. Whenever she spoke about Brea, her face took on a different glow. “Her relationship with Brea goes beyond work. They’re best friends; they like to drink wine and…” I thought about the time I had run into them at the restaurant. “They’re protective of each other. They make each other laugh.” My eyes fell to my desk, remembering the clothes she had stripped out of. “She wears a lot of blue, and it looks damn good on her.” I thought about the night we had stayed at the hotel, the way her eyes had lit up when she gazed out the window. “And she loves watching the sunset.”